Setting up your Control Record Properties

In order for you to be able to manage certain processes and complete and validate income tax returns you must set up the Control Record correctly.

The Control Record contains important information which is common to all tax returns. It also allows you to set procedural defaults that apply to the whole practice.

The information required to ensure the smooth running of the Tax Ledger is to be entered under the relevant Tab card. Without this information, tax returns will not be validated for ELS lodgment and other functions will not be able to be performed.

For each of the Control Record tabs click the links:

• General - This tab contains the main contact details for the practice. Some of these details are required for income tax returns or their accompanying lodged schedules and some of them are used in reporting and letter writing.

• Lodgment - The Lodgment Tab contains details of the Primary ELS lodging agent. This is the default Agent.

  

  It does not contain the ELS Communications set-up details. These are to be completed separately.

• Defaults - These are the Tax Ledger operating defaults. When any one of these Defaults is initiated or changed, it will be necessary to close Tax and re-open the Ledger for the change to take place.

• Security - Security offers two functions:

  • Password: This feature allows you to change or remove the Master Password that prevents certain functions from being accessed by all users below the rank of Administrator.

  • Return Security: This feature, when activated, allows you to nominate which users (employees) may open a particular tax return, thus locking the return from other than authorised users.

• Addresses - The various Practice addresses are stored in the Control Record. The Postal Address is the address for Service of Notices. This is the address that defaults to the front cover Current postal address for all return types other than those that have a specific Agent nominated in the Staff tab of the Return Properties for any return. These addresses may also be used in Letters and reports.

• Names/Audit- Both the Agent and the Agent's contact names are stored in the Control Record.

• The Agent's name is not sent via ELS but is shown in the Tax Agent's Declaration of the printed form.
• The Contact Name is required to be sent via ELS to the ATO or printed in the Tax Agent's declaration. It may be the same as the Agent's name but is usually the name of the person who can answer questions related to the taxpayer's taxation affairs.
• Banking - The Practice Banking Details, BSB Account Number and Account Name are recorded here. Where the Agent is receiving taxpayer's refunds into a Trust Account, the bank details may be defaulted to the EFT fields of any applicable return or standalone form that offers EFT facilities.

• (AE) RapidTax - this is a basic shortcut menu that allows limited access to return preparation workflows. Rapid Tax is suitable for those users who do not require access to all aspects of the Tax Ledger.

  

  (AE) Practice Manager users do not have access to Rapidtax.

• Correspondence Preference form CP - The Correspondence Preferences set up in the Control Record when lodged advise the ATO which particular correspondence types should be sent to the taxpayer and which to the Agent. Once these preferences have been set in the Control Record and Lodged with the ATO, a mirror image is defaulted to the CP Preferences tab in the Return Properties of each return.